Drew Tetz just won the whole wide world with this video. Crazy improvised fixed axle stalls on a Duncan Butterfly. Brilliant.

A bundle of new fixed axle tricks on a Butterfly, including some planebreaking tech stuff, a broadway stall, and the first ever heelflip suicide. Practice up for next week’s fixed friday! Launched under the banner of the mighty Lil’ Scrappy Fetus Crew, whose other members have just released some new music.

In 1998, Alex Garcia was the closest thing to a rock star that the yoyo industry had ever seen. Players were awestruck by him, and in Japan he was quite literally treated like a rock star…being rushed out of venues after demonstrations into waiting cars, and mobbed for autographs. The Hyper YoYo craze was in full bloom, and when 20,000 people show up for a yoyo contest in Tokyo, someone has to take the brunt of their adoration…and Alex Garcia was the king of Hyper YoYo.

Alex Garcia THP Trading Card (courtesy Doc Pop’s Flickr)

Alex was young enough that all the kids knew that with just a *little more practice*, they could be him. He was old enough to have that instant “my awesome big brother” charm that the younger kids fell for instantly, and he was good looking enough that all the girls swooned and sighed and giggled when they saw him. And aside from all of that, he was a really damn good yoyo player…he was fast, he was accurate, he had a great on-stage charisma, he played with his audience, and every time he strapped on a pair of Raiders he looked like he was having more fun than anyone in the world.

Cover for the Alex Garcia “Warp Speed” Mini CD Single

So, of course, he got his own theme song that actually charted in Japan. Produced as a Mini CD Single (hey kids, remember that format? Of course not. It was obsolete in the US almost as soon as it was introduced) and recorded by the obvious-marketing-ploy of a band called “Forty Four Hyper”, Alex’s nickname and theme song was “Warp Speed” and when he started performing to it the crowds went nuts. Back here in the States we were still fighting for the attention of suburban moms at mall demos, but in Japan Alex was coming out on stage to huge crowds chanting his name.

So, for the listening pleasure of everyone who remembers when Hyper YoYo ruled the toy industry and when the Teal Tide ruled the contest scene, here’s the complete song of “Warp Speed” by Forty Four Hyper. Enjoy!

Clint Armstrong makes another bid for the top of the heap with “On The Town”. The YoYoFactory Contest Team has a lot of talented players, but Clint is quietly climbing the ranks…watch out for him at contests in 2013.

The good folks at Terra Kendama have struggled to keep up with demand for their unique kendama model, The Pill, since they introduced it. People just couldn’t get enough of them, and they couldn’t make enough to keep up with demand.

So it’s pretty awesome for everyone that they’ve announced they have finally sourced a production house that can maintain their level of quality, and help them produce The Pill in large enough quantities to meet demand. Finally!

These should be available soon…keep an eye on Terra Kendama for details!

And if you’re new to The Pill and don’t quite understand how these work, here’s a fantastic video showing the possibilities of The Pill from The Kengarden:

The European Juggling Convention is the largest juggling festival in the world, with anywhere from 2,500 – 4,500 jugglers and other skill toy enthusiasts, teachers, and performers attending. Held in Southern France, the 2013 EJC will be July 27th – August 3rd and well worth the trip. Check out the teaser video above, and book your tickets now!

Plenty of bangers plus some quick-shots from my trip to California and around Canton. I wanted to create a higher energy kendama edit and took inspiration from the music video for the song DIE SLOW by HEALTH. All rights to HEALTH.

Great new video from Montreal-based player Alexis JV. Sponsored by SPYY, Alexis has an incredible grip on trick pacing for someone so young. His sense of timing and trick construction are remarkable and watching him play you’d think he’s been throwing for at least a decade.

There are few things I miss about Malaysia that don’t involve street meat on a stick, dipped in sauce from a rusty desk drawer (ask Dimi about that one), but one thing I really do miss is just how over-the-top the yoyo players are about pretty much everything. Even something as simple as a t-shirt gets a full 1.5 minute video….hilariously, they featured the t-shirt will full on-screen specs and neglected to tell us who the player is. But this video from 28spin.com is well worth the watch if for no other reason than just to say “Why yes, I have seen the most awesomely enthusiastic yoyo t-shirt commercial, ever.”